Geetika suicide: Police arrest Chaddha, Kanda absconding

New Delhi, Aug 8 (IANS) The now-defunct MDLR Airlines’ official Aruna Chaddha was arrested Wednesday in former flight attendant Geetika Sharma’s suicide case while Geetika’s ex-employer and Haryana’s former minister Gopal Goyal Kanda failed to show up for questioning, police said.

“We have arrested Aruna Chaddha in the case. Kanda is still absconding and we are conducting raids at all the places where he is suspected to be hiding,” Deputy Commissioner of Police P. Karunakaran told IANS.

Charges of criminal intimidation were Tuesday slapped on Kanda and he was summoned for questioning over the suicide of his former employee Geetika, whose body was found hanging in her house in north Delhi’s Ashok Vihar Aug 5.

“Three teams consisting 35 police personnel have been constituted for the search of Kanda. We raided Kanda’s farmhouse at Gawal Pahari on the Gurgaon-Faridabad road in Haryana,” said a police officer.

According to sources, raids were conducted at Kanda’s mansion in the Civil Lines area of Gurgaon and MDLR office.

“Police also raided his hotel Park Plaza in Sushant Lok in Gurgaon,” said a source.

Earlier in the day, lawyers of Kanda approached Delhi Police and sought three days’ time for him to appear before them as they needed time to study the documents sent by the investigators.

Police refused this request and asked Kanda to appear immediately, following which he went into hiding.

Kanda owned the MDLR Airlines where Geetika worked as a flight attendant. After the airlines ceased to function in 2009, she was given a job in another company owned by Kanda.

According to Geetika’s brother, Gaurav Sharma, his sister was being constantly mentally harassed by Kanda and his colleague Aruna Chaddha.

Geetika left a suicide note blaming Kanda and Chaddha for her extreme step, police said.